Summary

Our Score

8/10

Review Price free/subscription

Ah, Sony. At times it may exist on a different plane of reality, but good lord do the designers at the company know how to make technology to salivate over. Regular readers will know about the Sony TZ which we've now reviewed in two flavours: the VGN-TZ11MN and the top of the range, SSD equipped VGN-TZ12VN. And, in whatever flavour, it's at the very pinnacle of mobile computing today. You can take your UMPCs and smart phones, because there's nothing out there right now I'd rather have.

But, if this weren't enough evidence of Sony's design mastery, one must only look at its past achievements to find all the evidence required. Take the VGN-X505VP, which must still be the thinnest notebook ever to be produced, or the VAIO VGN-TX3XP – both fantastic designs, even by today's standards. Even the troubled PlayStation 3 has its merits, and whatever one's take on the pricing and all the other issues surrounding the PS3, it is hard not to appreciate the sheer engineering involved in making a console that's powerful, but also so quiet.

Thankfully, there is a point to this preamble because Sony is at it again with the CR Series. It's the spiritual successor to the C Series range which I looked at in the form of the VGN-C2SL back in February, and though that was nice enough it felt like an immature product compared to Sony's more interesting wares. No such accusations can be placed upon the CR Series, and the rather striking 'Blazing' Red edition VGN-CR11Z/R I have sitting in front of me today. Suffice to say, Sony has brought its 'A' game with it once more.

Naturally, the first thing that draws the eye is the red exterior and rightly so because it's wonderful. More recently I looked at another notebook with a colourful exterior, the new Dell Inspiron, and it's plain to see that the quality of the finish on the new VAIO CR Series is far beyond that on the Dell. It simply oozes quality, while the silver VAIO logo looks as stylish and refined as before. Of course, if red isn't your thing there are other options available, including: 'Indigo' Blue, 'Pure' White, 'Luxury' Pink, and Black.